Indicted Republican State Senator Is Close Cuomo Ally

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara subpoenaed records from JCOPE
earlier this year, as he took over the mantle of a defunct
anti-corruption commission that Governor Andrew Cuomo convened in 2012. Bharara criticized Cuomo,
a Democrat, for shutting down his special Moreland Commission in
exchange for legislative agreement on changes to the Board of Elections,
tweaks to the state's bribery laws as well as a pilot program of public
campaign finance.

According to the one-count indictment
unsealed on Tuesday, Libous is being charged with making false
statements to an F.B.I. agent in June of 2010, when agents first began a
probe into Matt Libous' employment. The indictment said Libous falsely
stated that he did not know when his son began working for Mangone's law
firm, was unaware that Hiffa's firm paid part of his son's salary and
had never made any of the alleged promises of work.

...

A Cuomo spokesman did not immediately comment, but the governor and
Libous were known to have a close working relationship, with Libous at
times serving as a back channel between the Democratic governor and
Republicans in the Legislature.

The men have often appeared
jovial together, and Cuomo made a surprise appearance in Libous'
Southern Tier district last year to help the senator mark a personal
occasion: Matthew Libous' wedding.

The
charges were brought by the office of the United States attorney for
the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara. Mr. Bharara’s
prosecutors are conducting unrelated investigations focused on more than
half a dozen other state legislators based on inquiries that had been
conducted by the Moreland Commission, an anti-coruption panel that Mr.
Cuomo created last July and shut down at the end of March.

The
indictment of Senator Libous effectively could deprive the governor of
his most powerful and sympathetic ally within the Senate Republican
majority. But it comes just weeks after Mr. Cuomo made a break of his
own, agreeing for the first time to help Democrats in an aggressive
effort to capture control of the chamber.

In
an appearance at Binghamton University last week, Mr. Cuomo praised Mr.
Libous at length, complimenting “his leadership and his character.” The
governor praised their ability to work together to produce results,
even though they are from different political parties, as an example of
“the difference between the old Albany and the new Albany.”

“He
is one of the really special human beings in the New York State
Legislature,” Mr. Cuomo said of Mr. Libous. “And he is one of the
natural leaders for the entire legislative body – Democrats and
Republicans, both houses. And he’s been a great mentor and a great
friend to me.”

Did the Moreland Commission that Cuomo shut down have the dope on Libous and not do anything with the information?